Bedwetting

Soggy sheets and pyajamas — and an embarrassed child — are a familiar scene in many homes. Bed-wetting is the unintentional (involuntary) discharge of urine during the night.Bed-wetting, also called enuresis, is one habit disorder that causes trauma, pain and disturbance to all concerned. It is involuntary urination while asleep after the age at which bladder control would normally be anticipated. It is common in children, and can affect adolescents too. Studies have shown that boys are more likely to wet their beds than girl. This cause embarrassment and stress for children and their families.

Bed-wetting is the most common paediatric health issue. Studies show that parents become worried too quickly because they expect children to stay dry too early. Most girls can stay dry by age six and most boys stay dry by age seven. By ten years old, 95% of children are dry at night.

Studies place adult bed-wetting rates at 0.5% to 2.3%. As per recent research in United Kingdom, if both parents of an individual had bed wetting problems themselves then chance of their child suffering from bed wetting is as high as 77 percent.

For a diagnosis of enuresis, wetting must occur twice a week for at least three months with no underlying physiological cause. Enuresis, both night-time (nocturnal) and daytime (diurnal), at age five affects 7% of boys and 3% of girls. By age 10, it affects 3% of boys and 2% of girls; only 1% of adolescents experience enuresis.

Conventional treatment of bed-wetting or enuresis includes certain medicines / nasal sprays which might help the patient for some days but they end up with lots of worse effects and relapses are very common with this treatment.

Children are most sensitive and purest gift of mankind. They require rapid, gentle and permanent cure for their small and big ailments which is not provided by the conventional treatment.

Drug imipramine is usually prescribed in cases of bed-wetting. The dangerous side effects are :

blurred vision or eye pain

breast enlargement in both males and females

confusion, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there)

difficulty breathing

fainting spells

fever

irregular or fast, pounding heartbeat, palpitations

muscle stiffness, or spasms

pain or difficulty passing urine, loss of bladder control

seizures (convulsions)

stomach pain

tingling, pain, or numbness in the feet or hands

tremor (shaking)

unusual weakness or tiredness

yellowing of the eyes or skin

Anxiety

constipation, or diarrhea

drowsiness or dizziness

dry mouth

headache

increased sensitivity of the skin to sun or ultraviolet light

loss of appetite

nausea, vomiting

skin rash or itching

weight gain or loss

Nasal sprays : A nasal spray containing Demopressin, an antidiuretic drug is usually prescribed for children as well as adults which suppress the production of urine. Side effects are :

headache

abdominal pain

nausea

a slight rise in blood pressure and sudden redness (flushing) of the face

a very rare but serious side effect of desmopressin is severe water retention that causes an imbalance of sodium and water in the body (called water intoxication, or hyponatremia). Water intoxication can lead to coma or death.

Other drugs used are oxybutynin (Ditropan) and hyoscyamine (Levsin). These medications reduce unwanted bladder contractions and also help reduce day-time urgency and frequency. These drugs too have potential side effects such as dry mouth, drowsiness, flushing, heat sensitivity, and constipation.

Homoeopathic Treatment:-

Homoeopathy is highly scientific, logical, safe, quick and extremely effective method of healing. It offers long lasting to permanent cure, treating the disease from its roots, for most of the ailments

Homoeopathic remedies are safe for infants and children. Research shows that children respond to the the treatment much faster than the adults. The reason is that, most of the time children come under homoeopathic treatment without diseases getting too chronic or complicated. Children have a very strong tendency to grow out of the problem; all they need is stimulation for the immune system, which homoeopathy does quiet effectively.

Homoeopathy uses medicines prepared from natural substances that are ‘Similar to the illness’ unlike conventional medicines which treats and often suppresses the patient’s symptoms. Prescribed on its basic fundamental laws, homoeopathy is much safer and quicker than other modes of treatment.

Bed-wetting (enuresis) is a potentially serious medical and psychological problem affecting about two million children as young as 6 and stretches up to adulthood. Many parents and patients who did not get help from a so called conventional medicine have turned their hope to homoeopathic medicines.

Research shows the high efficacy of homoeopathic medicines in the treatment of bed-wetting.In this scientific era of health consciousness, the time has come that for the treatment of any disease which does not respond to any particular line of treatment, one must seek a homoeopathic opinion immediately.

How homoeopathy helps:-

Homoeopathy offers a very gentle approach to treating bed-wetting or enuresis, which is actually a grave concern for children. Understanding a child, his / her likings, disliking, his / her behaviour, his / her fears, emotional set-up is to be known to treat bed-wetting from its root and all these things are given a lot of importance in the case taking.

By taking into account the patient as a whole and not just the illness, homoeopathy simultaneously confronts the symptoms, the patient’s constitution and even his or her psychological and emotional reactions.

The homoeopathic remedies act on the psychological, physiological and physical levels to relieve the condition of bed-wetting or enuresis.

The medicines will prevent any unwanted contractions of the bladder and restore normal bladder musculature, function and urethral sphincter control, hence, preventing any involuntary passing of urine.

The remedies have been formulated to treat nocturnal enuresis or bedwetting naturally without disturbing the endocrine system and it reduces anxiety, which is attributed to cause bedwetting in children. These remedies are natural, gentle, safe and can be given to children of any age and even to teenagers and adults.

If you were to compare a patient with a locked safe and medicine as a key, then a homoeopathic consultation is like finding the right key and opening the door.

Your child hopes to have fun with their buddies and spend some time together however they may be hindered by the fact that they wet the bed. It is really an awkward thing to confess for kids that they have difficulties holding their bladder throughout their night.

We have the solution to your problem – homoeopathic treatment!

There are 154 homoeopathy remedies which give great relief. However, the correct choice and the resulting relief is a matter of experience and right judgment on the part of the doctor. The treatment is decided after thorough case taking of the patient. Thus medicines of bedwetting or enuresis are tailor made unlike allopathy in which all patients receive the same drugs although trade name may be different.

Primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) is the most common form of bedwetting. Bedwetting counts as a disorder once a child is old enough to stay dry, but continues either to average at least two wet nights a week with no long periods of dryness or to not sleep dry without being taken to the toilet by another person. Medical guidelines vary on when a child is old enough to stay dry. Common medical definitions allow doctors to diagnose PNE beginning at between 4 to 5 years old. It defines PNE as, “Persistent bedwetting in the absence of any urologic, medical or neurological anomaly in a child beyond the age when over 75% of children are normally dry.”

Secondary nocturnal enuresis (SNE):-

Secondary nocturnal enuresis occurs after a patient goes through an extended period of dryness at night (roughly 6 months or more) and then reverts to night-time wetting. Secondary enuresis can be caused by emotional stress or a medical condition, such as a bladder infection, diabetes and so on.

Causes:-

The exact cause of bed wetting is not known. It is believed to be due to :

Common causes

Neurological developmental delay:- This is the most common cause. Most bed-wetting children are simply delayed in developing the ability to stay dry and have no other developmental issues.

Genetic:- Bed-wetting has a strong genetic component. Children whose parents were not enuretic have only a 15% incidence of bed-wetting. When one or both parents were bed-wetters, the rates jump to 44% and 77% respectively. Genetic research shows that bed-wetting is associated with the genes on chromosomes 13q and 12q (possibly 5 and 22 also).

Less common causes

Small bladder

Your child’s bladder may not be developed enough to hold urine produced during the night.

Inability to recognize a full bladder

If the nerves that control the bladder are slow to mature, a full bladder may not rouse your child from sleep — especially if your child is a deep sleeper.

Psychological causes

Stressful events, such as becoming a big brother or sister, starting a new school, or sleeping away from home, may trigger bed-wetting. Psychological issues (e.g., death in the family, sexual abuse, extreme bullying) are established as a cause of secondary nocturnal enuresis (a return to bed-wetting), but are very rarely a cause of primary nocturnal enuresis type bed-wetting.

Urinary tract infection

A urinary tract infection can make it difficult for your child to control urination. Signs and symptoms may include bed-wetting, daytime accidents, frequent urination and pain during urination.

Sleep apnoea

Sometimes bed-wetting or enuresis is a sign of obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition in which the child’s breathing is interrupted during sleep — often because of inflamed or enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Other signs and symptoms may include snoring, frequent ear and sinus infections, sore throat, and daytime drowsiness.

Chronic constipation

A lack of regular bowel movements may lead to reduced bladder capacity, which can cause bed-wetting at night.

Anatomical defect

Rarely, bed-wetting or enuresis is related to a defect in the child’s neurological system or urinary system.

For a child who’s usually dry at night, bed-wetting may be the first sign of diabetes. Other signs and symptoms may include passing large amounts of urine at once, increased thirst, fatigue and weight loss in spite of a good appetite.

Sound sleeping

Many parents note that their child who wets the bed is a deep sleeper. These children usually wet the bed less frequently as their sleep patterns mature.

Symptoms:-

Bed-wetting or enuresis is not a disease, so it has no symptoms. For a child who has never had night-time bladder control for more than 3 months, overcoming this problem is usually a matter of normal growth and development and this can be taken care of with appropriate homoeopathic treatment.

If a child has other symptoms, such as crying or complaining of pain when urinating, sudden strong urges to urinate, or increased thirst, bed-wetting may be a symptom of some other medical condition. A child with any of these symptoms should be evaluated by a doctor.

How is Bed-wetting Diagnosed:-

Detailed history of bed-wetting episodes and normal urination, type and time of food and liquid intake and sleeping times help the doctor to diagnose the condition of bed-wetting or enuresis. Physical examination is done to check any physical causes.

Urine analysis is done to rule out infection or diabetes.

X-ray or ultrasound of kidney and bladder are done only if some other physical problem is suspected.

Teenager or Adult Bed-wetting or Enuresis:-

Teen / adult bed-wetting or enuresis is a problem that most of the patients are embarrassed to admit or even talk about. It is a problem that most teens would rather keep to themselves. In the process, they might continue to feel as insecure knowing that they are experiencing something that most kids their age would find funny and quite embarrassing. But there are some things that teenagers who frequently experience bed-wetting should know.

For many teenagers and adults who suffer from nocturnal enuresis the very act of going to sleep is one of the most stressful parts of the day. This ongoing stress and subsequent lack of sleep can be detrimental to one’s health over time. Ironically, this stress and fatigue can actually be a contributor to bed-wetting of adults and could easily lead into a vicious cycle of worry and mental anguish which only gets worse without treatment or proper care.

Some teenagers may even dream in their sleep going into the toilet that can become so realistic that they already wet their bed while dreaming of peeing in the bathroom. It is also common for bed wetters not to experience it when they sleep at a friend’s house. The reason is that they usually get anxious about wetting their bed that they end up not sleeping as soundly and as deep as they do at home.

Home Care:-

Help your child understand that controlling his or her bladder will get easier as your child gets older.

Here are some tips that may help your child :

Give your child most of his or her fluids in the morning and afternoon.

Limit caffeine from chocolate or colas, especially at night.

Have your child use the toilet before he or she goes to bed.

Let your child help solve the problem, if your child is older than 4. He or she can help decide which treatments to try.

Praise your child for dry nights. Instead of making your child feel ashamed and embarrassed, parents should try to encourage and express confidence in their children that they will eventually out grow this condition. Positive reinforcement would usually work better in trying to stop bed wetting in children.